Power of Persuasion

The boys had a friend over the other day who was not that into playing one of Calvin's favorite games- racing around the house in circles.

I got to overhear this conversation as Calvin did his best to entice the little guy:

"But there will be running...." no response

"... and speed..." no response

"... and no claws poking you..."

Apparently the lack of claws sealed the deal, and they were all happily running circles in no time. These quick glimpses into the minds of my little boys help me realize that, no, I will never fully understand what goes on inside their heads.

Pretty good year

Apparently Noah thought it would be fun to end 2008 by changing things up a bit.

He's decided that he's finally ready to talk- he had us worried there. He doesn't seek out all listening ears and working microphones in the area (like someone else we know) but he definitely makes his thoughts and wishes known. We've gained a whole new understanding of Noah now that we get a glimpse of what goes on in that little mind of his:

While eating out one night with a large group of family, Noah found himself seated at the head of the busy table. Before I could restrain him, he stood to full height on top of his highchair and loudly exclaimed to us all with raised hands, "I'm batman!". Definitely didn't see that one coming.

Noah has also decided that he can be contained in a crib no longer. Those who have experienced this know the first time they manage to crawl out on their own changes everything. He now shares the bottom bunk with Calvin and we put them to bed together hoping one of these nights they will eventually fall asleep on their own. So far, no luck. (On our latest trip to Missouri he even managed to outlast his patient Uncle Sidney singing to him for over an hour and his sweet Aunt Mary lying down with him until 3am, I'm pretty sure they won't be volunteering to put Noah to sleep any time soon.) It is impossible to keep our defiant little Noah in his room, much less his bed. Unfortunately for us, he's setting an early precedence for pushing boundaries.

(Technically he's still "in" his room.)

And finally, Noah has started the exciting process of potty-training. In so doing, he has brought to light a design flaw in boys' underwear. Apparently all of the cool pictures of cars, Diego, superheroes, etc. can only be found on the back, making it impossible for the little boys wearing them to see the pictures (which is pretty much the only reason to wear "big boy potty pants"). Luckily, Noah has found a solution- just wear them all backwards.

So, here's to another exciting year with little boys growing up too fast.